


To forgive the unforgivable

by LilyPotteri



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, X-Men: First Class Fix It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:34:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27133235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyPotteri/pseuds/LilyPotteri
Summary: One month after Cuba, there is a knock on Charles's window.Can an unforgivable deed be forgiven?
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Comments: 9
Kudos: 83





	1. Chapter 1

The silence of the room was broken by the sound of knocking. Charles looked up from his book at the sound that came from the window. The mansion was quiet, the remaining kids fast asleep in their room, exhausted from the loss that was still so new.

That awful day on the Cuba beach had been nearly a month ago, but the memory was still a bleeding wound on their team.

Charles had found some comfort in the company of the remaining kids, and Hank had helped him to acclimate into this new life without the use of his legs. Charles's new wheel-chair was his design as well, sleek, modern, and easy to use.

Charles wheeled himself to the window, pulled aside the curtain and his heart nearly stopped from the sight greeting him.

He found Erik, levitating in front of his window in a brand-new suit complete with a magenta cape, that god-forsaken helmet under his arms. He looked tired, sad, and guilt-ridden and after a moment of hesitation, Charles slammed the window so hard it was a miracle the glass stayed in place.

"Go away!" Charles nearly shouted, his whole body shaking with anger. "You have no right to came back here. You made your choice."

"Please, just let me talk. I don't ask for your forgiveness. I know I betrayed your trust," Erik pleaded, and Charles got dizzy from the intense wave of regret coming from his mind.

It was heartbreakingly familiar to feel Erik's mind again, after weeks of being cut off by that helmet. Charles gave in to the temptation and reached out with his powers to seek it out for a moment, finding it completely unguarded for a change. With a shaky sigh, Charles opened the window again.

"We have nothing left to talk about. We've been through this before. We want different things and have different ideas about them. And now if you excuse me, I have a school to build, so you can bloody well go back to wherever you disappeared to. You know, when you abandoned me and took my sister with you." Charles was about to shut the window again, but Erik held it open with his powers. "Let it go, you megalomaniac don't you understand I don't want anything to do with you?" Charles shouted angrily, a single tear sliding down his face.

Erik let out a sigh and let go of the window, which slammed into his face again. "I know I screwed up big time, but I'm not leaving before you hear me out. I'm so sorry about what happened. I was filled with rage and hatred, and I wasn't thinking straight. You have to understand, for decades I had nothing but hatred and revenge. The only thing that had kept me alive, was finding Shaw and killing him. He had taken everything from me, and I wanted to pay him back. That was the only thing on my mind, my only goal in life. I was made into a monster, a killing machine. And that day I couldn't think about anything else. I had to kill him, finish him, have my revenge. I thought I would finally find peace if I killed him. But I didn't. And then it all went horribly, terribly wrong and I took the coward's way out."

Erik's voice was shaking now, and Charles sat there, petrified in his chair. He could feel the remorse coming from Erik's mind, washing over him in waves. Charles wanted nothing more than to open the window and let Erik back in, to act as nothing had changed.

But that would have been a lie. Everything had changed the moment Erik had killed Shaw and had walked away, taking Raven with him. Charles couldn't trust him again. He was unable to do it.

The window slowly opened, Erik pushing it in again, but he stayed out, hovering in the air. "I brought you the helmet. I don't want it. I never want to not feel you in my head. If you would not have me, just take it and use it for research."

Charles watched the helmet flying in but did not reach for it. He couldn't touch that awful thing and everything it represented. So he just numbly watched it falling next to his chair.

"This doesn't change anything. You abandoned me, and you took my sister with you. I can't find it in myself to forgive you," Charles said finally, but he didn't close the window.

Erik saw this as a positive sign and came closer. Charles could see from the darkness around his eyes, and his stubble, that Erik wasn't in the best shape either. _Good_ , something in his mind whispered.

"I would do anything to take it back, to undo it, but I can't," Erik whispered, barely audible in the night. "The only thing I can do is try to make it up to you. As for Mystique, - Raven, she would love to come back with me. She misses you just as much as I do."

That was too much for Charles, and he couldn't hold his tears back anymore. He wanted it to be true, he wanted to give in. There was nothing he wanted more in the world right now. But could he let them come back into his life? The people Charles loved more than anything, and the two person who had betrayed him. "I don't know if I can do it," Charles said softly, "I don't know if I can trust you again. Or her. " Tears were streaming down his face and Charles didn't do anything to stop them. But he didn't stop Erik either, who slowly came through the open window and landed next to Charles's chair.

"I know and I understand. All I ask for is a chance to try to make it up to you."

Charles couldn't look at him. He kept staring at his lifeless legs, as thoughts ran around in his head.

_"I'm not the same, Erik. I'm broken. In more ways than one,"_ Charles projected, feeling unable to speak.

_"I know, and I would like to help. If you let me,"_ Erik sent back, clinging onto the oh-so-familiar voice in his head. Oh, how he missed it. _"_ I need you," he added out loud. _"I love you."_ Erik fell down on his knees, clutching the armrest of Charles's chair with both hands. They were both crying now.

Charles slowly lifted his shaking hands from his lap and wrapped his fingers around Erik's, finally looking at him. His heart clenched in his chest again. "I never stopped loving you. Even when I wanted to hate you, I couldn't lie to myself," Charles said softly. "That's why your betrayal hurt so much."

Erik lifted both of their hands and wiped away Charles's tears. "I know," he said, voice ridden with remorse. "But I'm here now, and I will never leave you again. We will help you build this school, Raven and I. We will create a safe haven for all the mutant children, just like we always planned."

Charles reached up to gently caress Erik's face. "Give me a couple of days, to tell the others. There might be some... resistance regarding your return. I will let you know. Now go, tell your side, I will do the same with mine."

Erik started to pull away, reluctantly, but Charles reached for him and wrapped his arms around Erik's neck, pulling him back and pressing his lips together in a long-overdue kiss. It was quick, but held a promise in it, a promise of a better time to come.

When they finally broke apart, both men were shaking. "Go now, or I will not let you leave again," Charles breathed out, getting himself under control.

Erik stood up and straightened his suit before going out through the window again. "I will be back."

"I know."


	2. Returning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sooo I wrote a second chapter for this little fix-it. Prepare for CHEESE!

"No way!"

It has been two weeks since Erik had appeared in Charles's window, begging for forgiveness. Ever since that night, Charles was trying to convince the remaining x-men to give Erik another chance. Some of them had fewer issues with this than others. Like Hank, who voiced his concerns in a rather discontented manner. 

"But Hank, please listen to reason. He is only asking for a second chance to try and make it up to us all. It wasn't an easy decision for me to make, as you could imagine. But I agreed to give him another chance, so that's all I ask from you."

Hank turned away from the microscope he was hunched over to glare at Charles disbelievingly. "How can you of all people give him another chance? He put you in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. How can you even look at him again?"

Charles wheeled himself closer to Hank, taking his hand in his own. "Erik has many faults, but this wasn't only his. It was an accident. A terrible, horrible accident. But I learned to make my peace with it. There is nothing else I can do. And by the way," Charles added with a knowing look, "Erik would bring Raven back with him."

Hank's eyes glowed up for a second, but he quickly collected himself again. "Fine, whatever. It looks like you already made your decision, who am I to disagree with it. You are the boss." With that, he pulled his hand away and turned back to his work. 

"Hank, please your opinion matters to me," Charles said with a sigh. "I just want my family back together. We have lost enough of our people already."

"You are blinded by the feelings you have for Magneto," Hank muttered into his microscope. "You can never see clearly when it's about him. But I said fine, okay? Bring your megalomaniac boyfriend back to the mansion, but tell him not to expect a warm welcome. And tell him to stay out of my way or he might get a blue punch in the face. He very well deserves one."

Charles smiled tiredly and patted Hank on the shoulder. "I wouldn't expect anything less. And thank you."

Realizing that he will not get an answer from Hank, Charles quietly wheeled himself out of the lab.

Charles let Erik know of the development, and they agreed on them arriving tomorrow. 

There was much to do until then. With the help of Sean and Alex - who weren't exactly thrilled either, but kept it more to themselves - Charles got Raven's and Erik's room ready for their arrivals. Charles wasn't sure who was coming back apart from them, but there was more than enough place for everyone.

Charles often thought about what his mother and mutant phobic step-father would have said if they knew what Charles made of the ancient Xavier mansion. It was very satisfying to imagine their faces, and a little part of Charles wished that they were turning in their graves. 

With Raven's room clean and aired, with fresh sheets on the bed, they went over to the room Erik had occupied for a while. Charles was uncertain about preparing the room for Erik and the message that sent, but he decided on keeping it open as an option. He might be ready to let Erik back in his life, but he wasn't sure about letting the man back in his bed.

And even if he would be... nothing was the same with Charles's new condition. "We will cross that bridge when we get to it," Charles mumbled to himself.

There was nothing like seeing Raven and Erik back in the mansion. Charles was in his study when he felt the arrival of the familiar minds. And as he rolled himself out to greet them, he was met with a flash of blue and red, as his sister practically jumped on him.

"I am so sorry for leaving you," Raven whispered into Charles's shoulder, arms around his neck. "I was so foolish, and I immediately regretted it. Thank you for letting me come home."

Charles could feel tears sliding down his own face as he hugged Raven tightly. "You are here now and that's all that really matters."

Raven collected herself and stood up from Charles's lap, looking around the room. The other habitats came out to see what the noise was, Hank, Alex, and Sean were standing by the wall, looking at the prodigal people with various expressions. A little behind Raven, Erik wasn't paying any attention to anyone, but Charles. He was staring at him intently like he was the only one he saw in the room. Angel was standing next to him, arms crossed in front of her chest, looking positively uncomfortable with the situation. 

The silence was broken by Hank, who wrapped his arms around Raven with a tired smile. "Welcome home," he said.

Charles couldn't hear Raven's answer, because by then his focus was elsewhere. Namely on the tall and brooding form of Erik who still didn't approach him, just kept staring at him like he couldn't get enough.

"Welcome back, old friend," Charles said to him as he wheeled himself closer. "It's good to have you back."

Like he was in a trance, Erik reached down and took Charles's hands in his own, still staring at him unblinkingly.

"Thank you for letting me come back." Erik finally looked around the hall taking in the others. "I know we didn't part on the best of terms, and I know I'm probably the last person you would want to see right now." His eyes rested on Hank before sliding over at Sean and Alex. "All I ask, all we ask is a chance to right our wrongs."

Charles looked up at the man he loved and the one he - not so long ago - thought would never see again and somewhere in the back of his mind, he found that persistent slimmer of hope that told him things would finally start to get better again. Not overnight, but eventually. With Erik back on his side, there was no obstacle they couldn't get over. Together.

**15 years later**

It was a beautiful summer day, the Sun high in the sky and not a cloud in sight. Charles was sitting in the shade, under a huge oak tree, as the teachers and kids set up the new grill they just bought for this occasion.

It was the 4th of July, and the Xavier School for Gifted Children was preparing for the annual garden party. Charles watched with mild amusement, how Logan and the young John Allerdyce argued about the best way to turn on the grill.

"Why don't you let me help? What do you know of fire?" The teenager asked, his faithful lighter already in his hand. "I am one with fire and I know it better than anyone here."

Logan was trying to keep his composure, but Charles knew how hard it was to the man to keep his impulses in check.

"Yeah, and I would rather not see the house burn down just yet. Or do you need me to remind you of last week? There are still renovations going on in the left-wing."

"That was an accident!"

Charles thought it was the best time to interrupt, seeing the flickers of fire already forming around the boy's hand.

"I think this would be an excellent way for John to practice his precision," Charles said with a kind smile. "I'm sure Bobby can help us if things would get out of hand."

John's eyes lit up immediately and he ran off to find Bobby, leaving Charles alone with the grumpy-looking Logan.

"You are too hard on the boy," Charles said to him. "He is impulsive, yes, but he is not yet 16 years old. And he will never learn if we don't give him a chance."

Logan took a swing from his beer and glared at the Professor. "The boy is dangerous."

"Says the man with literal claws," Charles laughed. "They are only dangerous if they don't get to learn to control their gifts. That's why we are here. Now, have you seen my husband lately?"

"Talking about dangerous..." Logan muttered under his nose. "He is probably scaring some kids somewhere. Now is the inquisition over? I would rather we start working on the food if ever want to eat today."

Charles saw John and Bobby heading back to them, and with a last warning glance at Logan, he went off to find Erik.

_"Darling, where are you?"_ Charles said over their mental link.

" _In the garage. I have some stuff to work on. I will come find you later."_

Charles sighed, wheeling himself back under the shade of his favorite tree. Erik still wasn't a people person. It's been over a decade since he and the others came back, and a lot has happened since then. They founded the school together, they found their way back to each other and they made their relationship official soon after. But even with Charles's unending faith and love in him, Erik still felt like he was just barely tolerated. And his harsh attitude didn't really help that matter. It took ages of convincing and nagging, from Charles to get him to help out in the education of their young students. And even though Erik could never believe it, the kids in his German and History classes liked him, even if they were a little bit afraid of Erik.

As Charles looked around the people in the garden, he knew he had made the right decision to give Erik and the others a second chance. It wasn't easy, but it was well worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it, please drop of a comment or a kudos, it would be much appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> Let's talk Cherik together, kudos and comments are much loved


End file.
